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Al-Tawhid Brigade
Syria air strike hits Islamist brigade leadership Al Ahram (AFP), 15 November 2013Top Syrian rebel commander dies from wounds (Reuters), 18 November 2013 (Top Commander July 2012–November 2013) Adnan Bakkour Al-Qaeda fighters kill Syrian rebel leaders Al-Jazeera, 2 February 2014 (Top Commander November 2013–January 2014) Mohammed Hamadeen (Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade) Yusef al-Jader (Senior commander in Aleppo) Yussef Al-Abbas (Intelligence chief) Abdelaziz Salameh (Senior commander in Aleppo) |groups = |headquarters = Aleppo |area = Aleppo Governorate, Syria Homs Governorate, Syria |strength = 10,000 (own claim) (Nov 2012) 11,000 (Oct 2013) |partof = Islamic Front Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (2012-2013) Free Syrian Army (formerly) Euphrates Volcano |previous = Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade Fursan al-Jabal Brigade Daret Izza Brigade |next = |allies = Al-Nusra Front Ahrar ash-Sham Jaysh al-Islam Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union Army of Mujahedeen Alwiya al-Furqan Sham Legion |opponents = Syrian Armed Forces Popular Protection Units (formerly) Ghuraba al-Sham Hezbollah Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |battles = Syrian Civil War * Battle of Aleppo (2012–present) * Battle of al-Qusayr (2013) * 2013 Latakia offensive * Syrian opposition-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant conflict }} Liwa al-Tawhid, or the al-Tawhid Brigade ( , ) is an armed insurgent group involved in the Syrian civil wars Battle of Aleppo. The brigade was formed in order to coordinate the battle for Aleppo and was originally composed of three subunits: the Fursan al-Jabal Brigade, the Daret Izza Brigade and the Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade. According to international news agencies like Reuters, or newspapers like Al-Ahram or As-Safir, al-Tawhid is a Qatari-backed brigadeSyrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists Reuters, 14 November 2013 which has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. Units The largest subunit of the Tawhid Brigade, the Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade, is present in the Kilis Corridor and has taken over the leadership of several subunits in al-Bab to the east of Aleppo. It is now part of the Syria Revolutionaries Front. The second subunit, the Fursan al-Jabal Brigade, operates in the southwest of the Aleppo Governorate near the border with the Idlib Governorate and the city of Atreb. The third subunit, the Daret Izza Brigade, operates most likely in the western part of the city of Aleppo. Around June 2013 the Tawhid Brigade was reorganised into nearly 30 sub-factions. On 2 March 2014 the Northern Storm Brigade announced that they would join the Islamic Front under the leadership of the al-Tawhid Brigade. Activity In November 2012, the Tawhid Brigade announced their support for the Syrian National Coalition but called for greater representation in the coalition. The brigade's leadership called for a "a civil state where the basis of legislation is the Islamic faith, with consideration for all the minority groups of Syria". They thereby implicitly rejected an earlier statement they had made, with other local factions, which had called for an Islamic state in Syria and denouncing the Syrian National Coalition. In January 2013, the Tawhid Brigade announced on its website that it had become a member of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front. Official Website (in Arabic) In June 2013 Tawhid Brigade sent over 300 fighters under the command of Saleh and the Aleppo Military Council's Obaidi to the Battle of al-Qusayr. In 14 November 2013, a Syrian Air Force airstrike bombarded an army base held by Al Tawhid brigade in Aleppo killing a commander by the name of Youssef al-Abbas also injuring two others including Al Tawhid's head commander Abdul Qader Saleh.Syrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists Saleh subsequently died of his wounds in a Turkish hospital.Top Syrian rebel commander dies from wounds Following the death of Saleh, the Tawhid Brigade reportedly suffered serious internal divisions and lost considerable members in defections to other rebel factions. They also experienced a sharp reduction in military assistance from Gulf states, due to US pressure to support more moderate rebel groups. See also * List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War References External links * Category:Anti-government factions of the Syrian Civil War